Mercedes Car Group sales up six per cent in June

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) _ DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) said
Thursday that sales of autos from its Mercedes Car Group rose six
per cent in June amid demand for its luxury sedans and that sales
for the first six months of the year rose nine per cent.

The German-American car maker said that in June, the number of
cars sold rose to 118,000, up from 111,600 in June 2005. For the
first six months of the year, the unit sold 627,300 Mercedes, Smart
and Maybach vehicles, up from 577,000.

``Sales at Mercedes-Benz grew stronger than the market in the
first half of 2006, reaching an all-time high. Considering this
positive development, we are now expecting sales of the
Mercedes-Benz brand for the full-year 2006 to be higher than the
previous year's figure,'' said Klaus Maier, executive vice-president
of the group.

``As was to be expected, sales of the Smart brand will be below
last year's figure due to the focus on the fortwo.''

The improved figures were the result of stronger-than-expected
demand for the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class along with the M-Class.

Growth was apparent in all of the company's markets with all
regions contributing.

In western Europe, sales rose by 10 per cent to 340,500 units
through June. Mercedes-Benz posted record sales in the U.S., where
customer deliveries increased by 17 per cent through June to 114,900
units. A sales record was set in the Asia/Pacific region as well,
with sales there increasing by 19 per cent to 65,100 units.

The company said it sold 62,000 Smart cars in the first six
months, and 12,600 in June alone. DaimlerChrysler said last week
that it would start selling the tiny two-seat fortwo in the United
States starting in 2008.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) _ Luxury automakers BMW, Audi and
Mercedes reported healthy sales increases for August on Friday, with
demand from Asia and the U.S. driving gains amid mixed results in
their home ...

Chrysler Group's passenger vehicle sales, which include the
Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, fell 1.4 per cent compared with
June 2006, while Mercedes sales fell 5.8 per cent during the same
period.
Detailed breakdowns ...